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What Kirk said about children watching public executions & Chris Hayes

What Kirk said about children watching public executions & Chris Hayes

Plus: An Alan Dershowitz note referencing Vanity Fair appears in Epstein birthday book. Here's context

Izz LaMagdeleine
September 16, 2025

TUESDAY EDITION

Snopes Debunker

A white man wearing a blue suit stands at a podium. He holds a microphone in one hand and points upwards with the index finger of his other hand.

What Charlie Kirk actually said about whether children should watch public executions

Snopes readers have asked us whether Charlie Kirk once said children should watch public executions. Kirk died last Wednesday after he was shot during a speaking event at a Utah university.

Claims about Kirk's alleged quote also spread online. Some posts based their claim on a Newsweek article from last year, titled, "Trump Ally Charlie Kirk Suggests Children Should Watch Public Executions." Snopes reporter Laerke Christensen investigated.

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Examining claim Tyler Robinson's father vowed to donate $1.15M reward to Charlie Kirk's family

The Associated Press, citing an anonymous law-enforcement official, reported Matthew Robinson encouraged his son to turn himself in to the police.

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17 rumors we've investigated about Charlie Kirk assassination

We've investigated claims related to the suspected shooter, as well as quotes Kirk once said.

A white man wearing a black suit looks at the camera. A building with the word "TRUMP" on it can be seen in the background.

What we know about reports that Trump evicted 74-year-old stroke victim in the '80s

"I remember the specifics of this vile incident all too well," said Joe Conason, the reporter behind the story, in an email to Snopes.

A white man and woman stand next to each other smiling while taking a photo together.

Chris Hayes announced he was leaving MSNBC due to wife's cancer diagnosis?

The story was seemingly written to generate ad revenue for websites linked in Facebook posts.

Staff Pick

A white man is pictured next to a note that is dated December 11, 2002. The note says, "Dear Jeffrey, As a birthday gift to you, I managed to obtain an early version of the Vanity Unfair article. I talked them into changing the focus from you to Bill Clinton, as you will see from the enclosed excerpt. Happy birthday and best regards." It's written on the letterhead of Alan M. Dershowitz.

Alan Dershowitz note referencing Vanity Fair appears in Epstein birthday book. Here's context

Social media users shared a note from Alan Dershowitz that was allegedly included in an album of messages for Jeffrey Epstein on his 50th birthday in 2003.

The note from Dershowitz that social media users referenced was centered on coverage of Epstein in Vanity Fair. In the note, Dershowitz referred to the magazine as "Vanity Unfair." Snopes reporter Megan Loe has the details.